First-year Manchester United coach Louis Van Gaal is shaking things up at the soccer club, but perhaps no change is getting more attention than the cameras that have stated popping up around the pitch. According to ESPN, roughly £500,000 of camera equipment has been set up at the club’s training grounds in Carrington, England. Defender Johnny Evans told members of the press “We have this system at the minute where he can watch us on the pitch. A lot of teams use it but we are looking into it in quite a lot of detail. He is saying ‘you should be five yards to the right’, we are able to see things that are happening live on the pitch.” He added, “We went through a video recently and I was 10 yards out of position.”
Jonny Evans has revealed the full extent of Louis van Gaal’s attention to detail at Manchester United, claiming the new manager has adopted a Big Brother approach to training involving camera surveillance of every movement on the pitch. Van Gaal, who officially began work as United manager two weeks ago, is attempting to accelerate the team’s adjustment to a 3-4-1-2 formation during the pre-season tour of the United States, which continues against Real Madrid in front of a 109,000 crowd in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday. The former Holland coach has also introduced changes behind the scenes, from training times to the squad’s dining arrangements and the overhauling of pitches at the club’s Carrington base. But with United ploughing around £3 million into Van Gaal’s planned improvements at Carrington, centre-half Evans admits the biggest surprise has been the cameras that have been positioned alongside the training pitches. “I think it is a lot more detailed at the training ground now,” he said. “They have spent thousands on it and a few of the lads have seen HD cameras around the pitch. We have this camera system where he [Van Gaal] can watch us on the pitch. I think a lot of teams use it, but we are looking into it in quite a lot of detail.
